The Gospel and Money - 7 Principles - Part 3 The Fallen Nature of Money & the urgancy of the Gospel!

GREET EVERYONE-

If I have not had a chance to meet you; My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. New Members Class session 2

2. Saturday 10/21 Final Occ packing party

3. Sunday 10/22 Prayer Sunday

4. Sunday 11-5 Day of Prayer for the persecuted church Baptism Class

5. Tuesday 10-31 - Halloweenies With Video

LETS GRAB OUR BIBLES IF YOU HAVE ONE AND

Open it to the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 4 - beginning in verse 13 this morning as continue exposing what Jesus says about how money and the Gospel intersect in our fall series called “living well in a culture of money.

BEFORE WE JUMP IN I WANT TO ENCOURAGE ALL OF US

In this series we are unpacking and unwrapping from the whole council of scripture the 7 biblical principles of the Gospel and Money.

We began this journey together by unpacking Principle number 1 which is - Jesus is Lord -

that Jesus is creator - Jesus is Master of all things becasue Everything was created by Him through Him and For Him.

Therefore He owns all things - including the means of economic activity which is money. and he owns all the money.

Because He owns it all, as followers of Jesus - We have surrendered our life, including our financial resources, to the Lordship of Jesus, so Jesus can sanctify us, conform us to His image and in that work, change our hearts that holds onto anything in our life, that stands in the way of deep abiding intimacy with Him becasue He loves us and knows what is best for us.

ultimately this means that we have surrendered our decision making on how we distribute His money that HE declares is His.

We have walked through the 2nd principle - which is probably the second most important principle becasue it effect all of our life and that is “the redeeming work of Jesus”

Jesus redeemed us becasue He as Gods first born, Gods first fruits, Given to God, Given by God and Given from God to redeem the children of God, and as such -

When we place God first in everything we think and believe and DO we will see Gods regard, God’s redemption, God's blessing in the areas of time, talent and treasure when our time is redeemed as we Bring to Him the firstborn minutes of our day,

When We bring the first fruits of or talents - meaning our best to Him-

and we bring the firstborn of our increase, the first fruit of our production our income to Him as the first to leave our hands.

Because the principle of the redeeming work of Jesus is what ever it is it is redeemed or it is dead.

Today we will be unpacking and unwrapping the Fallen Nature of Money and the urgency of the Gospel.

This morning I want to re-emphasize the importance of the whole council of Scripture.

We are walking through 7 messages here on the topic of money, and it is a sensitive subject for most of us becasue of the toil and effort we go through to see money come into our lives. We have a severe investment of time and effort with money.

Here is what happens, with sensitive subjects when we deal with them through the whole council of scripture -

WE experience two things and both are from His Holy Spirit.

Comfort in the midst of conviction.

So this is why we walking through 7 weeks.

Doing the very best that we can to talk through these 7 principles from the whole council of scripture, so that through our imperfections- God can speak with love and grace and with clarity about how the Gospel and Money intersect and these principles be walked out in our life.

and This will bring comfort and conviction from the Holy Spirit at the same time.

SO let me encourage you - If you missed one message then Go back and listen to it because these are all linked together and missing one might cause someone to miss interpret or miss apply the other.

So lets begin unpacking and unwrapping principle 3 the fallen nature o money and the urgency of the Gospel.

Were going to look at the Mark passage as well as one other in Timothy, but our focus today will be the Mark passage

TRUTH

Mark 4:13–19 ESV

13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

1 Timothy 6:9–10 ESV

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Hebrews 13:5–6 (ESV)

5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

PRAY

DESIRE FOR THE MESSAGE

My prayer for this series is that we would understand from the full counsel of Scripture how the Gospel and money Intersect.

That God has given resources to you and to me for 2 things

1 - to advance the Gospel and 2 - Human flourishing.

There there is nothing evil about money but there is a purpose and an intent that God has with money and that is to Advance His kingdom and for human flourishing.

My prayer for this message is that we would come to know and understand the money although is not inherently Evil in and of itself, It is part of the fallen creation. And as a part of the fallen creation, it has embedded in its abilities, a fallen nature.

By nature, money can have a bad effect on people and we as bible believing people are not immune to the problem that the fallen nature of money can do to our minds our hearts and in doing so can take away form our lives the advancement of the Gospel, which can have damming effects.

ENGAGEMENT

So lets talk about some real issues culturally about money.

Ya know we live in a culture of money. Our culture is saturated with the premise, the idea, the messaging and the idolization with money.

I am not totally sure when and where that originated, maybe its one of those way back when. From the invention of money or economic commerce.

After all - most if not all of the old testament characters who were in leadership were wealthy and I mean very wealthy.

But since the advent of social media- What has seemed to happen is our culture is hyper money focused.

And that hyper focus has drastically changed some paradigms

The idea that you have to go to college and get a job and do all the right things to make money and lots of it is just not narrowly true.

Social media influencers and all kinds of online commerce are making people rich and very rich.

And they flaunt the life style and the ease of it all in memes and marketing all to promote the idea that the life you know have can be so much better and you missing out of the opportunity if you don't take for granted.

Here is what I see that is even more frightening - There are people who do that under the guise that is what you get IF you follow Jesus.

That money and the accumulation and a better life is what God desires and wants for you, if you follow Jesus.

That is the influence of the prosperity Gospel on the church.

and all of it works really well on people becasue we are in a culture that places an extremely high value on Comfort Convenience, safety and security.

And in the 60’s and 70’ this obsession infiltrated the church, and people who claimed Christ began to cling to the idol of money and the idols of safety, security, comfort, convenience and began to measure God’s blessing on how much of those they had, or god’s anger and wrath on how little of those were had in any ones life.

And what we are ending up with is a church that treats money as a lake to be filled instead of a river that flows.

But here is the deal - what money has done in all of us, is increased our desire for it and the things it can provide, all of which are in this world.

All of us struggle with the love of money and what money can do and acquire for us and

What is even worse we speak as if the more is the measurement of God’s blessing.

Loved ones - We need to be careful because the desire of money and the comfort, convenience, safety and security that it can provide is dangerous.

Even if we are desiring these things in the name of our families - The desire of of these things are dangerous and in some cases damming.

BACKGROUND -

Lets look at our text -

This is commonly known as the Parable of the Sower and the Seed.

This is extremely early in the time of Jesus proclaiming the gospel here on earth.

Most commentators and chronological studies say that this is Parable number 5 of the 39 or so parables that Jesus spoke and taught from.

But here is the interesting part of this parable - Of this saying -

This is the central pivotal teaching parable of Jesus -

The Understanding of knowing and hearing and comprehending what Jesus was teaching through all of the Parables hinged on if this parable was understood.

This Parable is central to all others.

We need to understand the passage of what we are looking at -

We are reading and hearing Jesus explain a parable that He has already spoken.

So this passage of text is not the parable itself. This passage is Jesus explaining the parable to his followers.

Here is what we need to understand about this explanation that Jesus is giving.

Jesus is going to talk in reference to two things mainly - and he is going to use word pictures to do that -

ONE - are people

and TWO life circumstances and the reaction of people towards those circumstances.

and This is a severe parable -

Lets look

VS13-14-15

Jesus make this parable central to understanding all other parables.

You might say - Pastor how can that be -

Well look at what Jesus said - Parables are spoke to reveal the secrets of the kingdom of God

Then he says to His disciples -

If you don't understand this parable how are you going to understand all the parables.

Jesus then Makes reference to the word picture that he made in the parable itself.

Wen He spoke the parable he said : A sower went out to sow - Now a sower is a multiplayer - someone who plants seed to see a crop grow -

Jesus continues - Some of the seed the sower threw in the grown fall along a path -

A path is like a side walk. Hard surface - not easily penetrated by water or anything else.

Jesus says that seed along the path is bait for Birds to come and devour the seeds.

Seeds in the tummy of the birds - No Crop grown - No fruit - no harvest - no growth - barren situation.

In the Explanation Jesus implies - The Sower is ANYONE who desires to be a multiplayer - Sowing into the lives of others the Word -

The Path is people - People who are hard and rocky and difficult. The Multiplier gives them the word of God - Shares the gospel and Jesus says “These people don not understand it” and Jesus says “THe Birds are really satan that comes and Takes away the word that is sown IN THEM.

Notice Jesus said the Word is IN THEM. No on them, not around them but IN THEM.

You see we have an enemy and he hates everything about God - That enemy will do anything he can to thwart and frustrate and derail the effective power of the Gospel that has been planted in the hearts and minds of people.

VS16-17-18

Again remember Jesus is explaining a parable he previously spoke.

Here is what he said in the Parable.

5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away

Jesus then Explains:

The Rocky Ground are people - People who life is difficult Rocky, and here is what happens -

These people who life is difficult - Jesus said in the parable “the seeds take root and spring up” He explains - They Hear the Word - They receive the Word - and Joy happens in their life - They are transformed by the word and they receive it.

In the parable Jesus says “since there was no depth of soil” in His explanation He says “they have no root in themselves”

Here is what happens -

In the parable Jesus says:the sun rose - heat was applied - and the seed that sprouted and began to grow “withered away”

In his Explanation Jesus likes the sun and the heat and having no root - He says when tribulation and persecution come on account of the word - immediately they fall away -

I want you to notice - Two different people -Same effect -

Path - satan came and took the seed of the word away and no plant and there for no fruit - no multiplication.

Rocky - Plants begin - no root - Heat, tribulation and persecution araize - plant withers - people fall away - Same effect - no plants no growth - no fruit - no multiplication.

Ask your self this question - These two groups of people saved or unsaved?

Here is the reason we all need to ask this - Jesus said this is the central parable of understanding the secrets of the kingdom of God -

VS18-19

Third group of people.

IN the Parable Jesus illustrated them as a place that has soil and depth and a place where plants grow -

In the Parable jesus says: the seed fell among thorns -the thorns grew and choked it out and it yielded no grain.

I the explanation Jesus says: among the thorns are The people existing in a place that plants can grow - where the seed - which is the word of God, the Gospel, can flourish and have transforming effect, but these people exist among the Thorns -

What are the thorns that have grown - Remember when the seed falls it is falling among these thorns.

Jesus explains what happens. The thorns grew - In his explanation - He says these thorns that grew are three things -

1- cares of the world.

2 - The deceitfulness of Riches -

3 - the desires for other things -

Here is the result- In the parable Jesus says that the thorns Choked the seed, it appears to have grown with the thorns but here is what happens - Seed that grows with thorns - have to share resources with the thorns and they become mal nourished - and although thy may exist, they do not produce seed or fruit.

In His explanation he says - The Word of God gets choked - It gets mal nourished - because it has to share time and attention to these thorns of life. and It proves to e Unfruitful.

In other words - it changes nothing -

ONE OF THOSE THORNS is the “deceitfulness of riches”

Two words that we must understand in this passage -

One Deceitfulness and the other Riches

Deceitfulness - It means Delusion - It means Enticement - The enticement of riches - In Greek literature it means - the illusion of pleasure -

Put all that together and it means the Delusional enticement of false pleasure.

Then RICHES - at the base of the original language it means to be filled -

In Greek literature it is specifically used to denote material wealth and is directly tied to three things - Luxury, Security, power as well as the accumulation of material and monetary possessions.

Sound familiar - Luxury -Convince - Power - Comfort and safety - Nobility 0 Security.

What the words that Jesus told us is that our focus and our immersion into the cares of riches are and illusion, a false enticement and counter intuitive to the Gospel.

They will cause our lives and the word of God to that is planted and has actually grown in our lives to be powerless and prove unfruitful.

That is the effect that money can have on our hearts, on our minds and our lives - when it effects how we think how we feel and what we do.

This is why Jesus said “no servant can serve two masters” - here is what we need to understand about that passage -

We are all servants -according to the bible we are either slaves to fear and darkness or we are slaves of righteousness.

Jesus says we do not have the ability to be servants to both.

They are incompatible.

In that passage Jesus goes on to say here is what really happens - When we try, we enter into a game of pride that always ends with one of two things - We will pick a master -

We will love one and hate the other - or we will be devoted to one and despise the other -

Jesus concludes that there is not a single person on the planet that can pull off being fully devoted to serving God and to Money at the same time.

Because here is what happens to all of us - God call us to serve him and money demands us to serve it.

And here in lies thee fallen nature of money

listen loved ones - This is not a new thing - King Solomon The richest person who ever lived -

You might think to your self - Wait a minute pastor - Elon Musk the electric car and space guy - what about him -

Elon Musk is worth 228 billion.

King Solomon - 2.2 trillion us dollars in today's terms.

Now one might think with all that money - Solomon might have had good things to say -

Here is what he said - Towards the end of His life.

ECCLESIASTES

10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

PAUL TELLS TIMOTHY

Paul writes to Timothy and tell him what the desire for riches does to us.

Loved ones it is a dangerous position that we can fine ourselves in -

Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation - in to a snare - Snare means a trap and that trap a snare trap was designed to Kill the animal not just capture it.

People who desire to be rich - Listen to the list -

Into temptation, Into a snare - into many senseless and harmful desires -

That is a lot of falling into things that sounds terrible - and here is the result of all that falling into things becasue f the desire to be rich -

It plunges us into ruin and destruction.

Paul then tells Timothy - The love of money - Here is what we have to understand the term love of money -

becasue many of us can say well I like money a lot but I don't love it like I love other people like my husband.

That is not the kind of love that is spoken of here - it is not that serious of a love - The love of money is a brotherly love kinda love - Not a spouse or Child kids a Love -

The brotherly love of money is the root - the cause - the life line - the source of all kinds of evil.

Here is the result - “through the craving for money or riches or mammon

that word craving is important - here is what it means -

to eagerly desire to accomplish some goal or purpose—‘to strive to attain, to aspire to,

To set a life goal of being rich, what happens to some people, is they wonder away form the faith - and they have brought many problems into their life.

HEBREWS

This is why the Witter to the Hebrews says to “keep our life free from the Love of money and be content with what you have.

Because Principle number 3 of the Gospel and money in living well in a culture of money is to completely understand the Fallen Nature of Money and because it is fallen, and we live in a fallen world, in this thing called flesh - We are so easily susceptible to its negative effects on our souls.

But the fallen nature of money is not the only part of the principle.

The principle is the fallen nature of money but also understanding the Urgency of the Gospel.

You see there is an urgency that we need to have about the Gospel -

Because the Gospel is urgent - The Gospel is urgent becasue Hell is real - Death happens to all of us without the appointment being on our calendar.

STICKY POINT PRAISE TEAM AND PRAYER TEAM

SO what does this mean - What does this principle need to change about us?

As we think about Principle 1 - Jesus is Lord meaning He is master of all things.

Principle two - The redeeming work of Jesus that redeems all things including treasure. That Jesus was the firstborn and first fruits of God -

and now knowing principle three - that there is a fallen nature to money and the potentially dangerous effects it ca have on all of us and the urgency of the Gospel and the increasing awareness of the need for the Gospel in our culture, and the command of God .

Here is what I hope we begin to embed - Over arching Truth

God allows financial resources to flow through our lives for two things -

1- the advancement of the Gospel and 2- human flourishing -

and we could just take principle one tow and three and understand that over arching truth.

But here is what he did not allow money to do and that is to be craved, self directed or remain unredeemed.

So what do we do?- If we have not surrendered the money that is in our life, that belongs to God under His lordship, under His direction and control,

If we have not brought to go God the first fruits of our production becasue he says its his -

and we have not done this becasue of our craving for the Comfort, convenience, safety and security that we think money can give us when it is accumulated. and there fore we have either passively or aggressively ignored the urgency of the Gospel

Then here is all we need to do - Repent - Turn it over to God- Just walk in a different way - DO different with God's money that he has allowed to flow through your life. Use it for eternal purposes -

Dedicate its first portion to the advance g the gospel and the rest dedicate to human flourishing - yours, your families and those in our community and in our neighborhoods and in our world.

You might say to me “pastor I want to retire” - I want to accumulate enough money that I don’t have to work.

Loved ones - I don't see the principle of retirement in the Bible. Here is what I do see - Entering the rest of eternity when we hear form our master, our God and saviour Jesus Christ - Well done good and faithful servant - You were faith with little now enter and enjoy for great is your reward.

APPLICATION OR IMAGINE

PRAYER TEAM!